Monday, March 27, 2017

The Mahdi tries again

Dale & Steve Daniels were visiting from Canberra but leaving before Tuesday, so we re-did the Colonial battle we did last week.  After that battle we decided to re-base the British on 6" stands tp avoid the problems with different sized stands (with appropriate adjustments to their stats). I also reduced the number of Brits a bit so they had 14 units + 2 guns to the Mahdi's 24 + 6 skirmishers.
Jim comanded the rits, Dale the Mahdi right & Steve the Mahdi left.
The Anglo-Egyptian column moves along the road toward the oasis held by the Mahdi.
 Suddenly a Mahdi infantry & cavalry division appear one each flank forcing a rapid deployement out of the column & a circling of the wagons.  The Egyptians at the tail of the column are in particular strife with 8 cavalry units with good command rolls converging on them.
The Egyptian infnatry is hold on, but their cavalry has been broken leaving them outflanked.  The british on the left are doing alright,  a second line has been deployed behind the Egyptians & the hussars are guarding the front from the troops now advancing from the oasis.  But on the right therehas been a break in the thin red line & the Mahdist's sweepinf advance has hit the gun in flank.
The Mahdi attack advance on the far right is running out of unshaken units, so the Brit right has stabilised.  A unit has broken on their left, the winners were shaken &unable to make a sweeping adcance into the expose flank of the rear guard.  
The Egyptian infantry have broken.   The Brits have contracted their line, but things are looking grim 
The Mahdi makes a coverging charge on the end of the British circle.
One bad break test is all it takes for the British situation to be totally hopeless.   A big difference to last Tuesday's result, but it's unclear whether the main difference was reducing the number of Brits, better Mahdi coordination of their attacks, or bad Break Test for the Brits, but all happened.

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